Events, News, and Deadlines

Jacob Tropp’s article, “Transnational Development Training and Native American ‘Laboratories’ in the Early Cold War,” has just been published in the Journal of Global History. Click here for a link to the article.

Darién J. Davis has published "From Oppressive to Benign: A Comparative History of the Construction of Whiteness in Brazil in the Post-Abolition Era.” Transmodernity: A Journal of Peripheral Cultural Production in the Luso-Hispanic World (Special Edition Summer 2018): See https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3tp4p886.

Associate Professor of History

Maggie Clinton joined the Middlebury faculty in fall 2009. She received her BA from Wesleyan University and her MA and PhD from New York University. She teaches classes on the history of modern China and East Asia, fascism, and imperialism. Her first book, Revolutionary Nativism: Fascism and Culture in China, 1925-1937 was published by Duke University Press in 2017. She is currently working on two new projects, one on the history of petroleum in modern China, another on intersections between historical and psychotherapeutic interpretations of evidence. Clinton’s work has been supported by the American Council of Learned Societies/Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Fulbright IIE, the Blakemore-Freeman Foundation, the Center for Chinese Studies (Taipei), the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Middlebury College.

Courses

Course List:

Courses offered in the past four years. ▲indicates offered in the current term▹indicates offered in the upcoming term[s]

FYSE 1451 - Power and Petroleum

Power and Petroleum in Asia, 1890-Present
From Standard Oil’s marketing of kerosene in 1890s China to 21st century conflicts over undersea reserves in the western Pacific, oil has played a key role in Asia’s modern development. In this seminar we will examine the expansion of European, American, and Japanese petroleum companies in East and Southeast Asia, the role of oil in the Pacific War, and China’s present-day efforts to fuel its growing economy. By analyzing novels, films, advertisements, and historical scholarship, we will learn about modern changes to local patterns of resource extraction as well as the emergence of new understandings of nature, illumination, and production. 3 hrs. sem. AAL CW HIS

HIST 0112 - Modern East Asia

Modern East Asia
In this course we will examine East Asian history from 1800 to the present. We will study the “Chinese World Order,” the patterns of European imperialism that led to this order’s demise, the rise of Japan as an imperialist power, and 20th century wars and revolutions. We will concentrate on the emergence of Japan, China, and Korea as distinct national entities and on the socio-historical forces that have bound them together and pried them apart. We will seek a broader understanding of imperialism, patterns of nationalism and revolution, and Cold War configurations of power in East Asia. 2 hrs. lect./1 hr. disc. AAL CMP HIS NOA SOC

HIST 0232 - Modern China
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Modern China
In this course we will examine the history of China from the early 19th century through the end of the Maoist period. Readings, lectures, and discussions will familiarize students with the cultural and social structures of the late Qing Empire, patterns of semi-colonialism, the rise of nationalist, feminist, and Marxist movements, and key events in the People’s Republic of China. Students will emerge from the class with a broader understanding of forms of empire and imperialism, anti-colonial nationalism, non-Western Marxism, and the tendencies of a post-socialist state. 2 hrs. lect., 1 hr. disc. AAL HIS NOA SOC

HIST 0303 - Oil, Opium, and Oligarchs

Oil, Opium, and Oligarchs: Modern Asian Empires
In this course we will examine dynamics and legacies of imperialism in East and Southeast Asia from the nineteenth century through the present. We will consider the role of opium in securing British influence, the rise of Japan as an imperialist power, struggles to control regional markets and natural resources, and China’s expansionist efforts past and present. By engaging with novels, films, treaties, and historical scholarship, class participants will gain a broad understanding of empires and imperialism, and how this heritage continues to inform Pacific-regional relations. Not open to students who have taken IGST/HIST 0475. 3 hrs. lect./disc. AAL HIS NOA

HIST 0306 - Global Fascism

Global Fascism
What was, or is, fascism? How do we know it when we see it? Can fascism be understood as an exclusively European phenomenon, or did it become manifest in movements and regimes in other parts of the twentieth-century world? In this seminar, we will engage with such questions via a range of texts including manifestos, films, and scholarly works. The first part of the course will interrogate seminal theories of fascism, the second will examine historical instances of fascism with particular emphasis on East Asia, and the final part will engage with debates about the contemporary resurgence of authoritarian populism. 3 hrs. Sem. AAL CMP HIS NOA

HIST 0475 - Imperial/Anti-Imperial Asia
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Imperialism and Anti-Imperialism in Asia
What was, or is, imperialism? In this seminar we will examine the dynamics and violence of imperialism in East and Southeast Asia during the 19th and 20th centuries. We will focus on ways in which scholars and historical actors have made sense of imperialism, the social changes that it brought about, and how people have sought liberation from it. With particular attention to the trajectories of China, Japan, Vietnam, and Indonesia, students will gain a broad understanding of how imperialism has been challenged and defended, as well as the ways in which its legacies continue to shape our present. (Not open to students who have taken HIST 0303). 3 hrs. sem. AAL CMP HIS SOC

HIST 0479 - Pacific Century: China-U.S.

Pacific Century: Chinese-American Relations, 1898-Present
In this course we will examine the multi-faceted nature of relations between China and the United States from the late 19th century through the present. Topics will include US imperialism in the Pacific, shifting dynamics of American orientalism, wartime diplomacy, the immigrant experience, and varying ways in which Communist China has challenged American military and economic power over the last sixty years. We will pay particular attention to how this “special” relationship shaped each nation’s development relative to the other. In addition to scholarly analyses, course materials will include memoirs, political tracts, travelogues, and Hollywood films. 3 hrs. sem. CMP HIS

HIST 0700 - Senior Independent Study
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The History Senior Thesis is required of all majors. It is written over two terms, with the final grade applying to both terms. The project is generally begun in the fall and completed during winter or spring. Approval is required to begin the thesis in winter or spring, and such students must still attend the Thesis Writer's Workshops that take place in fall and winter.

IGST 0475 / HIST 0475 - Imperial/Anti-Imperial Asia

Imperialism and Anti-Imperialism in Asia
In this seminar we will examine patterns of Euro-American and Japanese imperialism in South, East, and Southeast Asia during the 19th and 20th centuries. We will focus on the ways in which scholars and revolutionaries have made sense of the workings of colonial power and formulated strategies for resistance. By engaging with novels, films, and political manifestos, students will gain a broad understanding of how imperialism transformed lifeworlds, how its cultural, social, and economic dimensions have been critiqued, and the formation of nationalist, Marxist, and Pan-Asianist movements. Readings will include works by V.I. Lenin , Mao Zedong, Ho Chi Minh, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, and Ranajit Guha. This course is equivalent to HIST 0475. 3 hrs seminar. AAL CMP HIS NOA SOC